April 9 Poetry: Children's poetry Jack Prelutsky

In third grade, when Ms. Whitehead was my teacher she read us poetry almost every morning in school. That was the only year in school that I liked poetry until I was a graduate student. I know that people sing the praises of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and other Shel Silverstien poetry books. Frankly, as a child I didn't like them and even as an adult his stuff doesn't do anything for me.

Anyway, my third grade self loved Jack Prelutsky's poetry. I think I could recite nearly the entirity of "The Turkey Shot out of the Oven" (it destroyed the kitchen as it was stuffed with popcorn!) Sometimes in the evening I read Junia poetry from Jack Prelutsky books as she finishes her bottle.

So here are a few children's poems just for fun. They aren't all this short but I'm all out of patience for the night. I can't do a long one.

Chuck

I'm Chuck, the chore evader
and adept procrastinator.
I've got a lot of strategies-
I'll demonstrate them later.



A Puzzled Python

A puzzled python shook its head
and said, "I simply fail
to tell if I am purely neck,
or else entirely tail."


My Brother's Really Stingy

My brother's really stingy,
he's the lowest, he's the worst.
He never shares his lollipops
unless he licks them first


Prelutsky, Jack., a PIZZA the size of the SUN. (Greenwillow Books, New York, 1996.)